Bandai Namco has apparently cancelled five games, but don't worry, Elden Ring's DLC is still on the way
It seems that it was a bit of a quieter year for the developer.
Oh dear, things don't appear to be doing the best over at Bandai Namco, as the developer and publisher has apparently cancelled five games.
As reported by VGC, Bandai Namco recently shared its latest financial report for the third quarter of this fiscal year. The company reported that it had a 96.5% drop in income, a number so high I don't think you need to be an expert to understand how bad it is. Bandai noted that Dragon Ball and One Piece titles are still stable in Japan and overseas, and Armored Core 6 was "popular," but the drop mostly came from the fact that Elden Ring sold so many copies the previous fiscal year that it wasn't able to be replicated by another title this year.
Because of this, it appears that Bandai has had to cancel some of its titles, sharing that "in the digital business, in addition to valuation losses related to new online game titles and other titles introduced this fiscal year, we recorded a loss on disposal due to a review of title organisation with a view to the next mid-term plan. In the future, we will build an optimal and well-balanced title portfolio, examine our development system carefully, and strengthen development with an emphasis on quality."
In a Q&A held after the results briefing, a Bandai Namco representative expanded upon this saying "Disposal of work-in-progress was decided in accordance with internal rules regarding evaluation, and the online games and other products subject to this disposal were also implemented in accordance with these rules. We have also decided to discontinue the development of at least five other titles under development and have recorded a loss on disposal."
It wasn't stated what titles have been cancelled, so presumably none of them were previously announced. The representative went on to explain that the company's "development structure" has been changed so that there are "stricter standards for proceeding with development." You have to wonder if Jujutsu Kaisen: Cursed Clash had anything to do with that.
At the very least, Tekken 8 is apparently "ahead of expenses for this fiscal year… and is expected to contribute to repeat sales in the next fiscal year." And don't you go worrying about Shadow of the Erdtree either, as Bandai also said that it is "preparing large-scale downloadable content for Elden Ring," so everything is fine and dandy there too.